Men’s Basketball Concludes Regular Season Tuesday with Divisional Title Up for Grabs

Matchup	Saint Michael's (7-18, 4-16 NE10) at Merrimack (17-10, 13-7 NE10)
Date/Time	Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018 (7:30 p.m.)
Venue	North Andover, Mass // Hammel Court (Tickets)
Multimedia	Live Stats // Video // Twitter // Instagram

 
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College men's basketball program will celebrate Senior Night during Tuesday's regular-season finale, recognizing the careers of redshirt-senior Tawayne Anderson Jr.  and senior Kyle Howes before the 7:30 p.m. tip-off against Saint Michael's from Hammel Court. The Warriors need a win and a Saint Anselm loss to clinch their first Northeast Division title since the NE10 changed to a divisional format in 2013-14.   

NE10 Postseason Outlook:
The top-five programs in the Northeast Division advance to the NE10 Championship. Merrimack has secured a top-two seed in next week's tournament, and will have a bye until the quarterfinal round on Sunday, Feb. 25. The Warriors can move up to the No. 1 seed with a win and a Saint Anselm loss, while a loss or a Saint Anselm win locks Merrimack into the No. 2 seed.

1. Saint Anselm (19-7, 14-6)
2. Merrimack (17-10, 13-7)
3. Stonehill (16-10, 12-8)
4. Bentley (14-11, 11-9)
5. SNHU (14-11, 10-10)
6. Franklin Pierce (14-11, 9-11)
7. Saint Michael's (7-18, 4-16)
8. Assumption (7-19, 3-17)

Game Day Promotions:

• In addition to Senior Night, the contest against Saint Michael's is promoted as "90s Night". Students and fans are invited to dress in 90s clothing to win Merrimack Athletics prize packages. Awards will be distributed throughout the night

Last Time Out:

• The Warriors nearly erased a 20-point halftime deficit by going on a 28-10 run to start the second half, but the host Bentley Falcons recovered to build their lead back to double figures in a 72-54 win for the Falcons on Saturday afternoon
• Sophomore Juvaris Hayes led the way with 22 points, eight rebounds and four steals. Hayes shot 10-of-16 from the field
• The Falcons had a decided advantage at the free-throw line, hitting all but one of their 27 attempts. The Warriors only got to the line 15 times. Sophomore Chris Hudson led the way for the Falcons with 22 points on 12-of-12 from the charity stripe

'Mack Facts:

• With only one game left in the regular season, the Warriors trail first-place Saint Anselm by one game. A Merrimack win and a Hawks loss would give each program a 14-7 NE10 record, and the Warriors would win the tiebreaker due to their season sweep of third-place Stonehill
• The Navy and Gold will host a NE10 Quarterfinal game next Sunday at Hammel Court at 3 p.m. It will be Merrimack's first appearance in the quarterfinals since 2014-15
• Hayes now has 104 steals this season, leading the nationwide in both total thefts and steals per game (3.85). The second-year point guard is closing in on the NE10 single-season record of 114 steals, set 26 years ago by Assumption's Donnie Walls
• The Paterson, N.J. native was also named to the Bevo Francis Award Top 50 Watch List on Thursday, which is given to the best small college basketball player nationwide. The award includes candidates from NCAA Division II, Division III, NAIA, USCAA and NCCAA.
• Both Hayes and junior Ryan Boulter are within reach of 1,000 career points. Hayes (940) ad Boulter (930) would become the 44^th and 45^th players in program history to reach the 1,000-point milestone

The Purple Knights:

• Saint Michael's is coming off an upset of Saint Anselm on Saturday that prevented the Hawks from clinching the division
• The Purple Knights boast one of the top players in the conference in junior Levi Holmes III. Holmes is 0.1 points per game off the conference lead (24.2) and is tied for the conference lead with 88 three-pointers. Holmes' shooting splits are .498/.476/.892 on the year
• Tuesday's visitors have struggled on the defensive end this season. Saint Michael's allows the second-most points on average in the NE10 (81.6)

The Series:

• Merrimack defeat Saint Michael's, 71-64, earlier this season in Colchester, Vt. Behind a balanced offensive effort that saw four players score in double figures
• First-year sophomore Idris Joyner scored a career-high 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting in the game
• Merrimack picked up its 43^rd victory over Saint Michael's in 103 all-time meetings entering Tuesday

Up Next
The Warriors will host a NE10 Quarterfinal this Sunday at 3 p.m. from Hammel Court. If Merrimack is the No. 2 seed, the Navy and Gold will host New Haven – who is locked in as the No. 3 seed in the Southwest – in a rematch of last year's NE10 First Round tilt at Hammel Court. If the Warriors rise to the top seed, Merrimack will await the victor of the opening-round game between the No. 4 seed in the Southwest against the No. 5 seed out of the Northeast.